Finlandia University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381359570
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Hancock, MI, USA
Phone
9064877231
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community or Junior Colleges

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,081,025
Expenses
$17,581,030
Assets
$36,184,751
Liabilities
$16,954,078

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR PHILIP JOHNSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR PHILIP JOHNSON (PRESIDENT): $105,128 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

A learning community dedicated to academic excellence and service.

What it reported doing in 2020

The organization delivered courses of study in business, arts, and sciences, health sciences, and art and design to approximately 400 students during the academic year of 2020/21. It also conducted co-curricular, community, and other auxiliary services that support its mission to accomany the whole student toward a whole life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.8%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.